Bible Commentaries
Zechariah 4

Verses 1-23

XXVIII

THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH (CONTINUED) PART II

Zechariah 4:1-8:23

The fifth vision of Zechariah gave the people encouragement regarding their spiritual condition. The others gave them encouragement from the political and geographical standpoint, but this has reference to the inner, spiritual condition. This vision is for Zerubbabel, the messianic representative, the heir to the throne of David. The prophet says that he was wakened as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. This vision comes on the same night as the others, and apparently the prophet had fallen asleep between the former visions and this one. The same angel that had spoken to him before is still with him, and he says, "What seest thou? And I said, I have seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof."

This is his description of the seven-branched candlestick. There was a bowl above the candlestick probably in the center holding a large amount of oil. The seven branches of the candlestick spread on either side, and he says, "There are seven pipes to each of the lamps." Seven signifies perfection, and therefore the supply will be never-failing, and all-sufficient to keep those lights burning. Again, there are other means by which this bowl is itself to be supplied with oil. Two olive trees stand by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side. The olive trees furnished the oil which was used for their lamps. Now the prophet does not understand the vision and he asks the question, saying, "What are these, my Lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my Lord. Then he answered and spake unto me," giving a fuller description of the vision that had been presented to him, and the latter part of Zechariah 4:10 is a continuation of the description of the vision.

I read from Zechariah 4:6, first part, and Zechariah 4:10, latter part: "Then he answered and spake unto me saying, . . . These are the eyes of Jehovah," the perfection of knowledge and oversight of God, "which run to and fro through the whole earth." Those seven lights thus represent the omnipresence and omniscient activity of God. Zechariah 4:11 continues the description: "Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?" He does not answer at once, but the prophet asks again the question, "and I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden spouts that empty the golden oil out of themselves?" The olive branches acted as spouts for the olive trees carrying the olive oil from the trees to the golden bowl at the top, then through the seven pipes to each one of the lamps on the candlestick. "And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these things are? I said, No, my Lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." This refers to the two representatives of Jehovah among the people of Israel, Joshua, the religious leader, and Zerubbabel, the civil leader, one representing the regal and the other the priestly function of the theocracy as found in the hierarchy. These are the two olive trees which furnish the oil to the burning lamps.

Now let us see the application as we find it in the latter part of Zechariah 4:6, to the first part of Zechariah 4:10, bearing in mind this picture before the prophet of the two olive trees. What does it mean? "This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel." This was on behalf of the civil government, and it was through Zerubbabel that this message should be fulfilled among the people of Israel in the rebuilding of the Temple and the establishment of the nation. It was to be by the power of the Spirit of Jehovah, not by an army nor by fighting, not by mere strength nor power of any kind, "but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah." That is a great text, which has had its application all through the ages. Not by an army is this work to be done, Zerubbabel, not by your strength and prowess, not by anything but the Spirit of God, and this represents that operation: the two olive trees supply the oil which runs to the lamps and which keeps them burning. The process is unseen but its effects can be seen. That is the message to Zerubbabel.

Now the encouragement is in these words (Zechariah 4:7). "Who art thou, O great mountain?" A great difficulty seemingly insurmountable was before Zerubbabel. "Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it." The mountain shall disappear, the difficulty shall vanish, because the mighty power of the Spirit of God is going to be felt in the hearts and spirits of men, and they are to come to thy help. The Temple shall be completed and he shall bring forth the top stone "with shoutings of Grace, grace unto it." That was wonderfully encouraging to Zerubbabel, who must have been discouraged. Now the promise comes with great force: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house" (which was done under the preaching of Haggai); "his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me (the prophet Zechariah) unto you." But there were some that despised this small beginning, this almost contemptible start of the building: "Who hath despised the day of small things?" Many people have done it, but they are going to change their minds; they are going to rejoice and be glad when they shall see the plummet in the hands of Zerubbabel; when the prince shall begin the work of erection of the Temple.

The sixth is the vision of the flying roll, or the curse re-moved (Zechariah 5:1-4). People, priests and leaders have been encouraged. Now there comes a message saying that a certain class of people who are a nuisance and a trouble shall be removed out of their midst and they shall get rid of them once for all. This refers to the cleaning out of certain types of criminals among them. The prophet see" a roll, or scroll, flying in the air, and the angel speaks to him, "What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits and the breadth thereof ten cubits." That was a large roll, or sheet of paper, twenty cubits by ten cubits, or fifteen by thirty feet, to see flying. "Then he said unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole land." What was the curse to do? Every one that stealeth shall be cut off and every one that sweareth shall be cut off. The roll represents the principle of law to be administered by Israel; the flying roll means the active principle of law; the written roll, a published principle of law; in heaven means that the law and its penalty were from God.

The vision teaches that as Judah and Jerusalem were troubled by these criminals, Jehovah would send a curse among them and consume their families, their homes, and their houses, extirpate them, and thus cleanse Jerusalem from such a troublesome element. This was to be a great blessing to the people, as it would be almost impossible for them to go forward with such criminals in their midst.

The seventh is a vision of the woman in the barrel, or wickedness removed from the land (Zechariah 5:5-11). It is a vision wherein God shows to Zechariah that the spirit and principle of sin which seems to be engraved in the people’s natures would be removed by the divine power from their midst. It is the picture of an ephah, a large measure about equal to our bushel measure, really a barrel with a round top and cover to it. In the barrel there is a woman sitting. This woman represents wickedness: the principle of sin that is so prominent among the people. The lid is upon it, and on the lid is a talent of lead, a great weight. The woman is forced down into the barrel, the lid is closed over it.

Two other women appear with wind in their wings, wings like those of a stork, and they lift up the ephah between earth and heaven. Then the prophet asks the question, "Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build her an house in the land of Shinar: and when it is prepared, she shall be set there in her own place." Shinar, or the Plain of Babylon was the place where wickedness began, the plain where they attempted to build a tower into heaven and were scattered abroad; the plain which had been the means of Israel’s oppression. The idea is this: That sin must be removed, and it cannot be removed by a ritual or by a legal punishment. It must be removed by the action of the Almighty God himself. Human hands cannot carry away the sins of the people. That is a divine operation only and sin is represented here by a woman, not because a woman is more sinful or worse than a man, but because sin is so attractive. It must therefore be dealt with by God himself and banished from the land. According to this vision it is going to be done; evil is surely to be extirpated.

The eighth vision, or the chariots of the four winds, or spirits (Zechariah 6:1-8), is a vision of the universal providence of God; as the first vision was a vision of God’s providential scouts watching all that was upon the horizon of the world’s history, this is a vision of the universal providence of God visiting punishment upon the nations that have oppressed Israel. And in the first vision there were angels upon horses; here we have horses and chariots. He sees four chariots corresponding to the four points of the compass and representing the completeness of the operation of God’s providence. They came forth from between the mountains) and the mountains were mountains of brass. The mountains refer to Mount of Olives and Mount Moriah upon which Jerusalem was built. Brass represents the everlasting quality and strength of the mountains.

The first chariot had red horses attached to it, the second, black horses, the third, white horses, and the fourth grizzled or dappled horses. The brass mountains represent the invincible nature of the theocracy; the different kinds of horses correspond almost exactly to the four horses which John saw on Patmos as recorded in Revelation 6. The white horse there represents the gospel going forth in its conquests; the black horse represents the scarcity of the gospel when it was in the hands of certain ones who doled it out and starved the people; the red horse represents the conflict that arose wherever the gospel went; the grizzled or pale horse represents the persecutions that follow in the wake of the gospel.

These four chariots here represent the four winds, and the four winds represent the four great punishments or judgments of God that are to break forth upon all parts of the world, the analogue of what John sees in Revelation 7, where he represents the four angels as holding the four winds of the earth. Here are four chariots representing the four winds or universal providence of God upon the nations (see Revelation of "The Interpretation") .

Now he sends them forth, the black horses and the white horses go forth to Babylonia and the natives adjoining to inflict the punishments of Jehovah upon those people. The grizzled horses go south to Egypt to inflict punishment upon her, because Israel had suffered at the hands of that nation also. The red horses want to know where they are to go, and they are told that they are to walk up and down, to and fro, through the earth, that is, they are to pass up and down through the land of Palestine and be the administrators of the divine providence in that region.

Then a question arises here concerning the mission of the chariots with the black horses and the white horses, which go toward the north. "Behold they that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country." What does that mean? It means that they have caused his anger and wrath to rest upon those nations in the north which have oppressed Israel; that they are to inflict God’s severe punishment upon those people in the north country, until they are exterminated, and God’s spirit will rest because those enemies are gone. In other words, it means that they have caused this providential visitation of God to come upon and abide upon that north country. History bears us out in this, and from this time on, Babylonia, Assyria, and Syria began to decay, and God’s providential judgments have ever since then been upon these peoples.

The result of the visions was the crowning of Joshua, the priest (Zechariah 6:9-15). Following these visions which have given encouragement to the people and the leaders, which have promised freedom from sin and iniquities, and which have given them a vision of God’s universal providence on their behalf, they are ready for the crowning of Joshua as joint-sovereign and ruler with Zerubbabel, the son of David.

This is not a vision by the prophet, but a symbolic action which the prophet himself performs. There appear before him in the daylight, men who have come recently from Babylon and the captivity, such as Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come into the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, who dwells in the city. They are to bring silver and gold, such as they brought from Babylonia, and he is to make a crown, or crowns. The crown was a wreath, or diadem, which would encircle the brow of the priest, and it may have been made of two or three small wreaths, or rings, and put together would form one crown. That is probably the explanation of the word "crowns" mentioned here because there is only one man crowned, Joshua, which would necessitate only one crown, made of several small wreaths. Zerubbabel is ex officio entitled to a crown, being the direct heir of the line of David. Now Joshua is crowned.

Then comes the word regarding Zerubbabel: "Thus spake the Lord of hosts, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch." Zerubbabel is the man mentioned in the fourth vision: "He shall grow up out of his place"; he shall come out of his obscurity and assert his royal dignity and power. The vision predicts that he is going to rise up and build the Temple of Jehovah, and, as it says in Zechariah 6:13, "He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." They now have two crowned rulers, prince and priest. Zerubbabel is going to assert his place of power. Now, with the religious leader crowned, and the civil leader roused, the Temple is going to be built. Then these crowns that are here made are going to be preserved in the Temple as a memorial of those men who brought the silver and gold from Babylon, "And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Jehovah your God."

The larger fulfilment of this prophecy, the crowning of the prince and the crowning of the priest comes into vision as we look upon the one who represents both the priest and the prince. He represented in himself the priestly and the kingly authority, and he built the spiritual temple which shall abide to all eternity. Zechariah, however, is talking about building that Temple in Jerusalem, and his word has its application primarily to Joshua and Zerubbabel, but its larger application is to the priest-hood and kingship of Jesus Christ, the true Branch of the line of David. (For the typical significance of this crowning of Joshua see Revelation 6:1, of "The Interpretation.")

Now we take up Zechariah 7-8, the theme of which is the true fasts, and we find that these are dated some two years later, in the fourth year of the reign of King Darius. There is an interval of almost two years between those two prophecies. The question arises, What was done in the meantime? Those two years were occupied with the work of rebuilding the Temple under the inspiration of the preaching of Haggai and those visions which Zechariah saw. Two years passed, probably of strenuous labor, and by that time the Temple was half erected, or more. Jt required about four years to complete it, and it was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, or 516 B.C., that it was dedicated.

With the erection of the Temple there arose in the minds of the people the question of the keeping of their ceremonial laws. That gave rise to certain questions in the minds of some people, and they came to Joshua and to the leaders in Jerusalem with the question as to whether they should observe certain facts that had been observed since the beginning of the exile, about seventy years previous. This question on the part of those inquirers, gave the prophet his opportunity, and he deals with their problems, and by means of that inculcates the performance of civic virtues and duties which they must soon resume.

We observe in the second verse that a delegation came from Bethel composed of Sharezer and Regemmelech and others, to entreat the favor of Jehovah, and to speak unto the priests of the house of Jehovah of hosts and to the prophets, probably Zechariah, and Haggai, and possibly others of whom we know nothing, and they came with a question regarding certain facts which they had been observing. He does not say whether they should observe the fast or not, but he proceeds upon broader lines and principles. As much as to say, "God did not institute that fast which you have been observing these seventy years in the fifth month. It was not his requirement. You men of Israel instituted the fast yourselves. It was in commemoration of an event which Almighty God would have prevented if he could have done so righteously. It is in commemoration of an event which was because of your sins. He then throws back the question to them: "When ye fasted in the fifth and seventh month, did ye fast unto me?"

The fast in the seventh month was in commemoration of the murder of Gedaliah, the Jewish governor who had been appointed by Nebuchadnezzar, governor over the last, small, miserable semblance of national life, left after the fall of the city. "Even these seventy years, when fasting on the fifth and seventh month, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?" Was that God’s requirement: The answer is evident. No, your fasting was not unto God. Ye did it not at his commandment. Therefore, ye need not raise the question whether you should continue it or not. But he goes on, "And when ye eat and when ye drink, do not you eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?"

The point here is: Do you eat and drink to the glory of God? Then he makes an application of the historical episodes through which they had passed and which had burned themselves into the people’s memory. Rather than concern yourselves with this fasting in these months, or with eating and drinking, or not eating and drinking, he says in Zechariah 7:7, "Should ye not hear the words which Jehovah hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the low lands were inhabited?" In other words, God sent his prophets; ye did not hearken to them, and therefore ye lost all; now learn by your history and give heed to the word of the former prophets. Then he branches out to discuss and inculcate civic righteousness instead of mere ceremonial fasting: "The word of Jehovah came unto Zechariah saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Speak, saying, Execute true judgment and show mercy and compassion to every man his brother." Zechariah here says, "Take warning by the past, op-press not the widow nor the fatherless, the stranger nor the poor," and penetrating right to the very heart of the people and to their very motives, he says, "Let none of you imagine evil against his brother in his heart." In Zechariah 7:11 he again refers to their past history and to the stubbornness of their forefathers; how they refused to hear; how they made their hearts as hard as adamant lest they should hear the law and the words of the former prophets. Because of that, great wrath came from Jehovah of hosts, so great that when they cried, God did not hear. He scattered them as a whirlwind among all nations whom they had not known. Because of that even the land was desolate and the pleasant land was laid waste. Here Zechariah was in line with Moses. Isaiah. Jeremiah. Jesus Christ, and Paul.

The Seed of Peace, or the Future Prophecy of Jerusalem, is the theme of Zechariah 8. Here in this chapter we have ten brief oracles, each one beginning with the same statement, "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts," and in these ten oracles he gives a picture of the future peace and prosperity of the Temple and the establishment of the nation upon its religious foundation again. He commends their heavy labor in this work, and on the supposition that they are going to heed his word, and take warning by their past history, he proceeds to give them this series of views of the glory that shall come to their city and nation, as follows:

Oracle 1. A renewed assertion of God’s jealousy for them (Zechariah 8:1-2). Like the true prophet, he begins with fundamentals. He brings before their minds again the thought of God’s eternal love and God’s eternal interest in those people. "I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy."

Oracle 2. Jehovah’s dwelling in Jerusalem, the city of truth and righteousness (Zechariah 8:3). "I am returned unto Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem." It means his continued presence and therefore their assured blessing.

Oracle 3. There shall be the aged and the young in the city (Zechariah 8:4-5). We can understand something of the meaning of this prophecy) when we look at the character of the population of Jerusalem. Many of the people returned from the exile, but there were comparatively few aged men and women. They had not been settled long in the land and there were comparatively few children, and Jerusalem had comparatively few inhabitants anyway, and what is a city or community unless there be the aged with their wisdom, their mellow and ripened years, and what is a city or community without the playing, prattling children in the streets? A community of middle-aged men or women is not complete. All sides of human life are not there represented. Now he says the time is coming when there will be the aged, and there will be the boys and girls: there shall be old men and old women in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age, and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing therein.

Oracle 4. The marvel of their prosperity will be no marvel to God (Zechariah 8:6). "If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of these people in those days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts." There is nothing marvelous with God.

Oracle 5. Jehovah brings back his people (Zechariah 8:7-8). "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." This was partly fulfilled then, but finds its larger fulfilment in Christianity.

Oracle 6. An exhortation to strengthen their hands (Zechariah 8:9-13). Zechariah 8:9 is an admonition, "Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words," etc., which came by the mouth of Haggai as well as Zechariah himself. The Temple, he says, will be built, for that was the purpose of these prophecies. Before these words of the prophets came there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast, neither was there any peace to any that went in or out, because of the adversary. In Zechariah 8:11 he gives the contrast: "Now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days . . . There shall be the seed of peace; the vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. It shall come to pass that, as ye were a curse among the nations . . . so ye shall be a blessing."

Oracle 7. Justice shall be their standard (Zechariah 8:14-17). He gives the reasons why he had planned evil before. He plans good now on this condition as given in verse 16: "Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates; and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate saith Jehovah."

Oracle 8. Fasts turned into feasts (Zechariah 8:18-19). The fast of the fourth month was because Jerusalem was then taken by Nebuchadnezzar, of the fifth month because it was then burned; the fast of the seventh month was because Gedaliah was then slain, and the fast of the tenth month commemorated the blockade of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar a year and a half previous to its being taken. These four dire events in their history had been celebrated by fasts during the exile and up to this period of the return. "Now," says the prophet, "this has been changed; these fasts shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts," since the things that caused these fasts had passed away. "Therefore," he says, "love truth and peace."

Oracle 9. Peoples and nations shall come to Jehovah (Zechariah 8:20-22). "There shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts." This was partly fulfilled then, but the larger fulfilment is found in messianic times when all people shall come to the true Israel of God.

A tender and delicate touch is given here. They will say, "I will go also." A very suggestive text. A mother and wife and the family prepare to go to church, the father stays at home and perhaps asks them to pray for him, but he doesn’t go. In a revival where many are coming to the Lord the application of this text can be made to the others. "I will go also." That is what they are going to say, Zechariah says.

Oracle 10. Ten men shall follow one Jew (Zechariah 8:23). "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days, it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." It was fulfilled partially then; it was fulfilled more in the time when Christ was upon earth; it was fulfilled when Paul the great Jew brought the gospel to the heathen world, and if we substitute a Christian here for a Jew, for a Christian is the real descendant of the Jew, it is being fulfilled now. This figure signified dependence and love, as a child clings to the parent; so, it applies to the great fact that the religion of the world comes through the Jews. This will have its larger fulfilment in the millennium.

QUESTIONS

1. What was Zechariah’s fifth vision, what was the meaning of the symbolism, what the message of this vision, and to whom?

2. What was the promise of this message, and what was the meaning and application of Zechariah 4:10?

3. Is there a type of Christ in this vision? If so, what?

4. What was Zechariah’s sixth vision, what was the interpretation of its symbolism, and what was the purpose of the vision?

5. What was the seventh vision of Zechariah, what was the interpretation of its symbolism, and what the encouragement here to God’s people?

6. What was Zechariah’s eighth vision, what was the meaning of its symbolism, and where do we find in the New Testament the vision of which this is an analogue?

7. What great symbolic act follows these visions and what is the interpretation of it?

8. What was the subject discussed in Zechariah 7-8, what was the date of this revelation, how long after the visions and what had occurred in the meantime?

9. How did this question arise, what was the meaning of the question, what was Jehovah’s reply, and what was the meaning of it?

10. What history does the prophet then recite to them and what was its lesson?

11. What was the special theme of Zechariah 8:12 and what ten oracles of this chapter introduced by "Thus saith Jehovah"?

12. What was the meaning and application of Jehovah’s jealousy of Zechariah 8:2?

13. What was the meaning and application of Jehovah’s dwelling in Jerusalem?

14. What was the meaning and application of the young and aged in the city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 8:4-5)?

15. What is the meaning of Zechariah 8:6?

16. What is the meaning of Zechariah 8:7-8?

17. What was the prophet’s exhortation and encouragement in Zechariah 8:9-13?

18. What promise does he make to them and what requirements does he make of them in Zechariah 8:14-17?

19. Why were the fasts mentioned in Zechariah 8:18-19 kept by the Jews in the captivity and what was the announcement here concerning them and why?

20. What was the promise of Zechariah 8:20-22 and what the fulfilment of it?

21. What was the meaning and application of Zechariah 8:23?